Egg washing and scrubbing apparatus



June 17, 1952 J. BOWLER EGG WASHING AND SCRUBBING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed July 2, 1948 INVENTOR.

1.0{1/3 .r. BOWLER TORIYE YS Patented June 17, 1952 EGG WASHIN G AND "S CRUBBI-NG SARBARATUS LouislBovvler, Middletown, .Calif.

Application Jul-y 2, 1948,:SeriaT- No. 36,793

.2 ,Claims. 1

This invenuon relates to. improvementsin egg washing-and scrubbing apparatus :and "more particularlyto-improved aDparatus'usable'bye single operator for washing eggs and depositing the washed eggs in conventional egg crates.

lt'is among the obj cots-of the invention topm- =Vide improve d egg washing ;,and :scrubbing ap- Daratus of simple construction, which :will effectively and continuously rwash eggs as they :are deposited therein :without breaking .or cracking any of the eggs, which will receive the washed eggs: anddeposit them, an entire layerzata time, inga conventional :egg crate, whichzcanlbe easily operated by ahsingle operator, does not-require-a high degree :of skill or proficiency for its efiicien-t operation, and is simple and durable. in constructionand'economicaltomanufacture.

Other .objects and advantages :will :become apparent :from' a consideration. of the ,:fol-lo wing iderscriptionrandthe appendedclaims:inconiunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of aneggwashing apparatus illustrativeof the invention, a; portion being:broken away. and shown inlcross :section to better :illustrate the construction thereof.

:EigureIZis atop plan view of the egg'washing apparatus illustrated in.Figure-:l.

Figure T3'fiS a transverse cross :section, :onan .enlargedscale, .of the egg washing apparatus, taken substantially on the line 3-3 :of Figure ":2.

EigureAWis a perspective view of .animproved egg .acarrying apparatus or (receptacle showing eggs in .position therein.

Figure 5' is atransverse cross section of theegg carrying receptacle illustrated in Figure 4, taken substantiallyron the line 5-5 of Figure 4, and showingtherecepta-cle in closed or egg retaining condition.

Figure '6 is a transverse cross section similar toiFigure 5 showing the receptacle in open or eggreleasing position, and

Figure 'lis'a bottom plan view of the-receptacle illustrated in Figure 4.

With continued reference to the drawings the eggwashing apparatus comprises a shallow-elongated-rectangular tank, generally indicated at l0, supported on'ifour legs ll, disposed nearthefour corners of: the tank. The tank has a bottomwall .121. slightly inclinedfromone end-of the tank-to alocation adjacent the other end, side walls 13 and end walls 14. Theupper side wofzithetank is open except for 1a :lplatform 15 extending across the ;top .:of the tank at the rear end thereof to support ;egg-receiving receptacles, :..and1a ;drain -valve: Skis :providedatpthe zdeeper end; ottheitank.

'. Eg zholdin means :is secured. in the and comprises ;a piecepf Wire mesh 46 extending transversely and longitudinally ofthe-tankiabove and c substantially parallel vto the bottom wall ,I-2. This-piece of wiremesh ha its longitudi al edges securedcone tozeach side wall I3-of the tank sand its end edges secured to respective ;,bat ten s 11 extending transversely of the tank, spacedirom the opposite ends thereof and downwardlyfrom the 1- top edges .cflthe tankfs:.side:wa11s to :a location :spaced :above the bottom wall. i-Ihis wire mesh .hasopenings therein-of .a;si.z.e toindividuab ly receive eggs to ;be washed.

Egg scrubbing means is disposed :in .the tank below .thesholding "means is and comprises :a flat rectangular ..plate 18 positioned below rthevwire mesh holding means "t6, a distance to support eggs inthe openings ofzthe 'wire'rmeshandiiszsubstantially :parallel to the holding means. Side rails I9 are mounted in the tank, one :adjacent each side thereof, to support therplate' L8 inoperative position .below .the holding :means :15 ,Jzand thelupper surface of :the plate .is..provide d :with: a

fabric covering 20 preferably 'formedcof cotton towelingor similar material.

The plate ,I 8 is longitudinally reciprocable .in the tank below 1 the; holding-means 16 to .;roll ,and scrub "thezeggs held in the. openings of the holding means.

Axpost 2%| is: secured to. the front end of 1 plate [8 substantially. at the mid-width location thereof and extends upwardly somewhat :above vthe upper edges of the tank sidewalls. An' electric motor 22 is secured to the-front end of .wall H of the tank :by a suitable bracket 13v and ispositioned :so' that the shaftis substantially vertical and projects above the upperv edgesoflthe tank walls. At'large gear 24 is rotatably mounted on a vertically disposed axle 25 carried by bracket 23, and a smallgear 26 on-the'motor shaft :21 meshes withgear'24 to rotate the latter-when the motor is energized. An eccentric pin 28' extends upwardly from the gear 24 and alink rod 29 pivotally connects .pin 28with the top end" of post 2 l :toreoiprocateithe plate 1| 8 longitudinally when gear:24 is rotated'by motor 22.

In case electricity for operating themotorrZZ is not available,-a handcrank can :be substituted therefore. for rotating vthe small gear .26 and driving the .large gear 24.

Water is: put .into thetank to a level slightly abovetherwiremesh holding means It and ,a suita-bledetergent may be added to the water, desired. .Eggsjto ,bewvashed are then placed inathe openings-pf thezholdmg means and th otor -broken during the washing operation.

3 22 placed in operation. The reciprocating scrub ber l8, operating against the bottom surface of the eggs, will turn the eggs in the openings of the holding means and in doing so effectively remove all foreign matter from the egg shells. The scrubber reciprocates at a slow speed so that the eggs are not roughly handled or cracked or When the eggs have been satisfactorily cleaned they are manually removed from the holding means and placed in a receptacle, particularly illusttrated in Figure 4 and generally indicated at 30, supported on the platform l5 at the rear end of the egg washer. When the water in the tank becomes dirty it may be removed through the drain valve 9 and a fresh supply of water provided. The receptacle 38 comprises a rectangular wire basket having side walls 3| and is of a size to closely fit into one end compartment of a conventional egg crate. Transversely extending wires 32 divide the interior of the basket in one direction into a number of rows corresponding to the number of rows of eggs received in an egg crate half. These wire partitions are uniformly spaced apart and parallel to each other and in the illustrated arrangement there are five partitions dividing the interior space of the basket into six rows corresponding to the conventional egg crate size. Wire partition members 33 extend across the interior of the basket perpendicular to the partition members 32 and divide the rows provided by the members 32 into individual egg compartments. The number of partition members 33 is the same as the number of partition members 32 so that the basket or receptacle will hold six rows of six eggs in each row makin a total of thirtysiX eggs which corresponds to the capacity of the conventional egg crate half. A handle 34 preferably formed of a strip of thin metal, has a straight intermediate portion 35 substantially parallel to the upper edges of the basket walls and perpendicularly extending end portions 36 which are directed downwardly from the intermediate portion and are connected at their lower ends to two opposite side walls of the receptacle at the mid-length location of the latter. The handle may be conveniently secured to the basket portion of the receptacle by having the lower ends of the end portions 36 bent around the top wire of the two opposite side walls of the basket, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 4.

-A plurality of narrow plates 31 extend across the bottom of the basket, one under each row, provided by the space dividin partition members 33. There is a respective plate 31 underlying such egg receiving row of the receptacle and each plate is hingedly connected along one edge to the bottom edge of the corresponding partition 33, as indicated at 38, in Figures 5 and 6. The plates 3? extend substantially parallel to the handle 34 and the group of three plates at each side of the handle are movable toward the similar group at the opposite side of the handle when the plates are pivoted to their compartment-closing position, as illustrated in Figure 5. Pivoted links 39 secure the three plates of each group together for simultaneous movement. A pair of wickets it of flexible wire is secured to the bottom or inner edges of the two inner plates 31 and extend upwardly over the middle partition 33. These wickets are substantially V- shaped and a crank rod M passes through the wickets at the apices thereof and has offset end portions 42 journalled one in each end portion 36 of the handle so that when the crank rod 4! is rotated to a position such that its intermediate portion is at its uppermost position, as is illustrated in Figure 4, the two wickets 40 are pulled upwardly to move the plates 31 to their compartment-closing position in which they constitute the bottom wall of the receptacle, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 7. The crank rod M is held in this compartment-closing position by a lug 43 extendin downwardly from the intermediate portion of the handle and having in its lower end a notch releasably receiving the intermediate portion of the crank rod. The crank rod is manually releasable from the notch 44 in the lower end of lug 43 and when so released and turned, so that its intermediate portion is in its lowermost position, the plates 31 are swung to the position illustrated in Figure 6 in which the eggs are released from the receptacle into the egg crate.

As explained above, as the eggs are washed they are deposited in a receptacle 30, supported upon the platform l5 of the washing apparatus. As the receptacle 3!] is filled with eggs, it is placed in an end compartment of a conventional egg crate and the eggs are released, in a manner explained above, into the crate whereupon the plates 31 of the receptacle are returned to their compartment-closing position and the receptacle again placed upon the platform to receive eggs from the washer.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. Egg washing apparatus comprising a shallow, rectangular tank having an open upper side, egg holding means disposed in and secured to said tank comprising a piece of wire mesh extending from side-to-side and from end to end of said tank and positioned above and substantially parallel to the tank bottom wall, said wire mesh having openings of a size to closely receive eg s individually therein, egg scrubbing means in said tank below said holding means comprising a fiat plate extending longitudinally and transversely of said tank a distance below said wire mesh holding means to'support eggs in the openings of the wire mesh and a fabric covering over the upper surface of said plate, said plate being longitudinally reciprocable in said tank, means supported on the bottom of said tank supporting said plate in position spaced from and substantially parallel to the tank bottom, and means carried by said tank and operatively connected to said plate to impart reciprocating movement to the latter.

2. Egg washing apparatus comprising a shallow, rectangular tank having an open upper side, egg holding means in said tank comprising a piece of wire mesh extending from side-to-side and from end to end of said tank and positioned above and substantially parallel to the tank bottom wall, said wire meshhaving openings of a size to closely receive eggs individually therein, egg scrubbing means in said tank below said holding means comprising a flat plate extending longitudinally and transversely of said tank a disport eggs in the openings of the wire mesh and a fabric covering over the upper surface of said plate, said plate being longitudinally reciprocable in said tank, means supported on the bottom of said tank supporting said plate in position spaced from and substantially parallel to the tank bottom, and means carried by said tank and operatively connected to said plate to impart reciprocating movement to the latter, said means imparting reciprocating movement to said scrubber comprising a post secured to one end of said scrubber and extending upwardly therefrom, an electric motor mounted on said tank with its shaft extending above the upper edges of the tank walls, an axle carried by said tank, a gear journalled on the upper end of said axle, a gear on said motor shaft meshing with said first mentioned gear to rotate the same, an eccentric pin extending upwardly from said first mentioned gear, and a link rod pivotally connecting said eccentric pin with said post to reciprocately move said scrubber upon rotation of said first mentioned gear by said motor.

LOUIS J. BOWLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 901,774 Boies Oct. 20, 1908 1,131,158 Peterson Mar. 9, 1915 1,520,424 McCullough Dec. 23, 1924 1,542,347 McCullough June 16, 1925 1,639,487 Collis Aug. 16, 1927 1,963,139 Mattoon June 19, 1934 2,087,844 Hansen July 20, 1937 2,301,931 Davis Nov. 17, 1942 2,410,163 Howard Oct. 29, 1946 

